Folding door



FOLDING DOOR 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 14, 1949 www i@ INVENTOR..

i @OBE/ar EMLLEQ,

j BY

rroeA/EYS.

R. E. MILLE Oct. 21, 1952 FOLDING DOOR- 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov.` 14, 1949 ,QOBERT ZM/um;

INVENTOR.

4 Sheets-Sheefl 3 IN VEN TOR. @OBL-:2T MLLEQ,

Y BY '5M-v9- R. E. MILLER v FOLDING DOOR' 0a/54d 42x50@ :724 5&2/ ja a f a f 4 mi Oct. 21, 1952 Filed Nov. 14, 1949 rroeA/Eys.

R. E. MILLER FOLDING DOOR 4 Sheebs-Shee'fl 4 Oct. 2l, 1952 Filed Nov. 14, 1949 1N VEN TOR.

cgpm

rroeA/Eys.

Patented Oct. 2l', 1952 l Toxin-ING Doon f j iappiietiengnovember Ysurfe exerted onone of. thepan'elsl simultaneously rotates. the 'panels i individual1y^+towards or tof-an edge-on position and slides them bodily. .to one side of the opening. l

The invention is adaptable to many types of vclosures such as windows, garage doors, cabinet doors, room doors, front fdo'ors, etc., and is'not limited to direction.ofi-'opening That is, the panels may slide vertically to and from open position, asin an overhead garage doom/o1' may slide-horizontally: asin aaroomf-,doorl have limited-:myshowing ,toA embodiments .wherein`- the panelstslide Vhorizontally` and ftheffullu closure= is in ftheorm ofaroom door or asrontdoorfbut it is to be understood this is done onlyior illus- .trative purposes. andv .is .not to beconsidered; as.- at

all limitative on Lthe invention.

; rfIhe fgeneral advantages of, ,multi-panel v'folding doors as to door-spacececonornydas. contrasted 'with fthe waste g ofvspace necessarily allowedgfor in-connection with fthe 'swing-.path of a. 1 usual.-,door-) are vvixril-ierent in. ,.my. device- Ad ditionally,v .it is among the .objects ,of`- my {invention, -tofprovide'a foldingdoor whereinthe opening and closing .moyements lare Ycontrolled. in ya, manner ito insure .especially.v` smooth,- .easy and surefoperation.

folding.; structure' which'shall represent aflrrigid closurein its unfolded or-closingposition and,in itsfmovement to yand from-folded-fcondition, 5shall not -ffswayf out of line or :tend inadvertently. to lock1or jambain, intermediate-ort.-terminal posif tionsnf'rhe doen;itsemountingzand theflin-kfage controls :are Aof.natures' which allow them to be sturdywandffwell adapted 'to'.re'sist theA abuse to whichzthey-are Very apt tofb fsuibjected,4 and Ayet sufficiently light Aand v,easy zofcoperation permit readyrmanipnlation,by Y. a f; :person ,-of inferior strength.. i

' r1.4,Robert ELMiller, Sierra Madre, Calif.

14, 1949, serial No. 127,121

. geminis., (01.1611511911) :.Fg.-3 .is aviewrsimilar to Fig. 2k butA showingth'e: panelgassembly.partially folded;

'.f-Fig.; r3a, isf. an ,enlargedv broken-away detailof theoupper-end of aLpanel, showing anoptionally provided screening flangef on the-top plate; T.Fig; 4 isan enlarged fragmentary showing of thenpper- .portion off-lligcl'y Fig. l5 1 is .:1n-enlarged4 section on line .f 5-.5 Tof` '.-lligif 51a is'i'an enlarged, `fragrrientary and contracted View v,showing the'pntlemountingof one ofvthapanels; '1, -1 ifFig.' is an enlargedJ section,` on line -Bf--v of Fig. 1; ,1 j Y ,Fig'lf-is asceticn online '1 -'1 of Fig.` 6; ".llg. f8, .is aeview similar to Fig. y2v but; showing a. :v,aJiatio-nal;` embodiment of the ,-invention; f c --Fig 9,.,is. arviewgsimilar` to'lFig. v butgshowing the' Y:panel .;-assenobly partially olded; z-'Fig. 10 -isv a-view :similar to .,Fig; 2,2 but showing anotherVv Variationa-lf .embodiment of the inven I VY?. f l. .1v-f f 'f LEig'. 11 Vis -a View similar toFig.i10.but.-ysbowing thefpanel assembly,lznartially.folded;v 1 y ;.Fig. 12 shows a'variational typeof guide for the lowerfend'sof thefpanels, with the'panelfassembly zrEig 13 is' afviewysirnilartoiFig; L12";but showing theypositions of ,parts when` the @panel-.assembly isafol'ded;vv f f. .1' iFig.. 14 isa sectionionline- |4=ili4of Fig.;12; 'i Fig 15 Vvisan enlarged. section on lineY Iii- I5 of Fig. 13;'.and n y ,v

Figli. .16. is:- an? 'enlarged section f oni; line i G-f-'fl 6.

ofzFiglQll. f v In rFig. '1l-there .isishown in,.wall.' Hi :aiv doorway lil gdened by Jae. frame .generally :indicated atv I 2 and comprising door post I 3, jamb .l 4` and a cross member ,orf header .plate l 5. siilr(not1s'howri) thereon. may .be consideredf-for certain'. treatmentlpurposes asV part of theframe. In Figs. 2 and 5 arey shownusual door-stop strips `andiextending horizontally fthe fullw'idth; ozthe doorwaymThe'track.may be of anyrsuita'bleffde.-

' shown the-:track as'foonsistingof ahollowzmember: of.. .fbox. lcrosseseotion,v with'. thefxloweruwall centrally :cu-t :through to .providev a 4rlongitiiinally extending way?l j 9." (Fig.'= 5.)). Thef cutting. ofi-:the way; leavesathe lower=wall-fin the..form.:of rhori-. zontallyspaced-*flanges 2.o adaptedfto :receive the rollers; 2|f-ofi1thefaconventionallya illustrated. travelling .hanger .12.v -f The. .lha-nger `22 includes; a

The floor, I.6 or; a

ryoke 23 on which the rollers are journaled, and on which is mounted a swivelling pin 24. There is provided a hanger for each of the panels, except the one adjacent post I3, as will be described.

Sunk in oor I6 or the threshold (not shown) is a track or channel member 25 (Figs. 6 and 7) which is in vertical alinement with and parallel to track I8. u

The door or closure 26 is made up of a plurality of interconnected panels. I have shown the panels to be three in number, but it will be understood it lies within the scope of the inven' tion to provide only two panels or to provide more than three panels. For instance, in a door for show cases there may be as many as twelve or more panels. y Y.

The three panels are indicated at 30, 3l and 32, and, for later purposes of reference, they may be considered as the jamb-side panel, the intermediate panel, .and the post-side panel, respectively. The panel 32 is mounted for pivotal movement about a fixed, vertical axis A adjacent post I3 and relatively close to the near side of the door. The upper end of each panel may be capped by a plate 33 secured thereto at 34 (Fig. a) and the lower end of each panel may carry a base plate 35 secured thereto at 35. The upper and lower plates of panel 32 carry pintles 36 and 31, respectively, which are vertically alined and which, are, respectively, entered in sockets 38 and 39. Sockets 38 and 39 are, in turn, stationarily'mounted in header plate I5 and floo I6, respectively, and establish said axis A.

In order to orient certain elements tobe described,I have indicated at C the central plane of the panel assembly when the latter isy fully unfolded-that is, when the door is fully closed.v

I have provided control linkage, generally -indicated at 40, between adjacent panels, such'linkage 4being located at the upper ends of the panels. The linkage includes a main link 4I, pivotally connected at 42 to the end plate 33 of a panel 32 at a point approximately mi'dway'ofv the panel width Vandatone side of plane C. The other end of link 4I is'pivotally connected to the rswivel pin 24 of the hanger 22 associated withpanel 3 I; A similar link 4I extends from pivot 42 on panel 3| into pivotal connection with the swivel pin 24 of the hanger 22 associated with panel 30. "Each swivel pin is rigidly connected to the plate 33 of the associated panel, the entire mounting being such that the weight of the panel is taken by the hanger and transferred to track I 8 and' header I5, allowing the panel bodily to slide horizontally and to swivel about the axis of its swivel pin 24.

However, it is t'o be noted that the arrange'- ment is such that both swivel pins 24 are atthe side of plane C opposite to that at which pivot connections 42 lie, and that pins v24 are also near those side edges of the individual panels which lie nextto the adjacentpanels.

,Paired with each main link 4 I. is acontrol link 50, these links 50 being parallel to links 4I and being pivotally connected at opposite ends :to adjacent panels. For instance, the control link 'llwhich is paired with the main link connecting panels 32 and 3I, is pivotally connected at 5I to the plate'33. on panel 32 and at 52 to the plate 33 on panel 3I--the two :linksbeing parallel and of the same length. Pivot 5I is at the same vdise tance from and at the same side of plate C asis pivot 42, and pivot 52 is at the same distance from and at the same sideof plane C as is swivel pin 24. Thus, pivot points 24 and 52 all lie in a com- 4 rnon plane E parallel to plane C; pivot points 42 and 5I all lie in a common plane D parallel to C and axial with respect to pintles 36 and 3l; and planes E and D lie at opposite sides of and are equidistant from plane C.

In a given installation, assuming (1) the width of the panel (or the distance between pins 24 on adjacent panels when the door is closed) has been predetermined to be some dimension R, (2) the spacing of the pivotal connections in the direction of the panel thickness (that is, the spacing between planes E and D) to be some dimension a, and (3) the distance, measured at right angles to the planes of the panels, between pivot point 52 of one panel to the pivot point 5I of the adjacent panel when the panel assembly is fully folded, to besomepredetermined dimension b, then the remaining dimensions which bring about the illustrated relative positions of the panels before, during and after the folding and unfolding operations, may be expressed bythe following formulas,wherein a: and y represent the perpenf dicular distances between a given pivot 42 andithe adjacent pin 24 as measuredin a plane parallel to ther panelswhen the lassembly is unfolded, and z equals the effective length of each link 4I and 50.

` The adjacent ends of the panels may be complementarilynotched as at 53, 54 or otherwise shaped to form an overlapping joint when the door is fully closedthe overlap being such that it does not interfere with the opening or closing of the door. Y

If additional panels be introduced to the assembly, they are link-connected to adjacent panels andare hanger-supported by mechanism similar to that described above. Y

A projecting knob 55 is shownV at that face of panel 30 which faces outwardly when the door is folded, while a recessed knob 56 is provided-at the opposite face of thev panel. Preferably, Athese knobs vare located as close to thenotchedfend of the Vpanel as is practicable--for the opening forces are thereby most efdciently-applied.

In Fig. 6 is shown the control linkage at the bottom of the door. This linkage is the duplicate ofithat described for the top of the door and therefore 'the-description need not be repeated; Similar'parts are indicated with the same refer# ence numerals but with prime marks. Similar parts ofthe upper land lower setsare in vertical alinernent. However, pins 24 which fit'into -track 25 are not, of course,weight-supporting members, as are pins 24. Instead, pins v24' are merely in the form of studs and'serve as guide elements and as pivotal connectors between the panels Aand links 4I. Of course, it lieswithin the scope of the invention to reverse the weight-bearing relationship, that is, to have down-bearing rollers like 2I engage the lower. trackland to have'guiding studs, only, engage the upper'track.

In the several figures the thicknesses of the links are. 'greatly exaggerated. Actually, of course, .the links may be relatively thin so there .is but slight clearance betweenthe ends of the panels and theQopposing'frame members. of the doorway. x r

If desired,r the gap between the-upper'ends of the panels and header plate I5 may befrejamb-side panel 3U which swings away door movement.

` The ilange arrangement may, if desired, befdu'plicated on the platesat the `bottoms' ofthe panels.. z.l 1 u It will be'obviousthat asythe panelsmove-towardfand 4from foldedfpositions, the-parallel links'vconnecting each-pair of panels maintain the parallel relationship of al1y the panelsinthe assembly and that the sliding of pins-"llll in track-I8 and pinsf24 intrack 2,5 confines-bodily n movement 'of lpanels 30 and 3I to a straightjline between post I3 and jamb I4.

Assuming the assembly is in vthe full g line position of Fig. 2,- and it is desired to open the donn-inward pressure onknob 55, for instance, causes panel 30 to rotate in a clockwise direction about its swivel pins 24 and 24' (Fig. 3). The associated links and 50 thrusty on panel 3| to swingit aboutits swivel pins 24 and 24', and the links 50 and 50'- connecting panels 3I and 32 thrust on panel 32 to swing it about pintles y36, 31. The effect of the exerted pressure isalso rto simultaneously causeswivel pins 24 and 2li` to vtravel vto the left through tracks IIlv and 25,

respectively, that is, through plane E, but the sets of parallel links maintain:l all the panels in parallel relation one with the others throughout the bodily, leftlwise movement of panels. 30 and3I. f 1 -Continued application of the openinglforce moves the panels t0 the dotted line positions of Fig.'2, the panels then being'closelynested in parallelrelationship and presenting themselves to lthe doorway in edge-onpositions to leave a wide, uninterruptedopening between the folded `door and jamb I4. Throughout vtheir 'travel the panels are held atthe top and b'ottomagainst side sway and against any movement whichfmight tend to lock or wedge them in intermediate posi-v tions.4 They move smoothly and easily through predetermined-paths yfrom fully closed positions to full open positions. When in 'either 'fully openorfully closed position they respond vimmediately to operative pressure.'K Upon subsequently exerting a pull on knob 55, the reverse action takes place,.the panels moving smoothly and in parallel relation' back to the full line position of Fig. 2. It will be noted thatin the form*v of .thein- `vention just described, it is the free end' of the from and toward central plane C during the opening and closing movement, respectively, of the door.y Similarly, the righthand ends of vpanels 3| and 32 swing towards and from'plane C. .n

In Figs. 8 and 9 there is illustrated' an embodiment wherein the jamb-side end offthe terminal panel and the corresponding ends Aof theother panels vare guided 'for movement ini plane E, 'parallel to plane C, and the opposite ends ofthe panels swing'towarols and from plane C during In` these figures, door parts which correspond to like parts in Figs. l through 7., are, given the, same reference numerals plus the zsubscriptffa. 1 and such of the description Vof ,6 form,,attachment, and operation as` are mutually applicable willfnotbe repeatedhere.` 1

Itlwil-l bernotedfhowever, thatjpost-side panel 32a is, inthe form of Figsb and 9, bodily-"mov-` able, insteadof being confined to pivotal movement-asin the earlier gures. -Herefthe .connection between post4 I3 and panel 32u.` ish-.by wayo'fahingeleaf` (or leaves) 60 pivotally -connected vat one Aend 6I to -po'stl3 and pivotally connected fat 62 to the-outer -faceofL` panel 32a approximately along its center line.

Swivel pins 1240, engage 1a-.track (not shown) similar to track I8; and are connected to tracksupported Vhangers (not shown-)4 similar to hangers 2-2; WhichsuSp'end-the panlsor-swivelling and 'bodily movement.l 4A swivel-pin 24a is `connected to post-side panel 32a,whereasftherej"ls no such connection-i017 the corresponding lpanel in-Fig.2`.- The'links 4laan'd V500iv are all vparallel and-are secured to'the panels and'eswivelpin's in 'the manner-described in connection withfliks -4Iv and 50, except that they incline i-n-opposite directions: There is also an =extrajswivelpin Maa and an'associatedf-hanger '(not shown) simiklar to=22 and; engaging a'track (not-shown) similar vto track I8, which'extra 4pin is secured to the ,v outermost end of `jamb-sidev panel Spa to track-guide said, end ,during opening and closiing movement of the door'. f 'Y Arojc'e'c'zting r `and recessed" knobs 55a and A55a, respectively, are provided -onv the vpanel 30a. these knobs `beingiin-reverse arrangement with respect to theembodiment of'Fig.-2,` and preferably being arranged as close as ies-practicable to 4the'line 0f swivel pin 24pm.`

Thef-'bottom endsiof the panels may bejiconnected by linkage similar rto that Y,Shown in; Fig, `9 and associatedrwith a track similarvto' track 25,".1he,Stud-counterparts ofpins 24a and 24am engaging. said track,lbut noshowns .is :made: of this ,duplia'oll ySinceit is believed it :,willbe fullyapparentifrom whatl has alreadyv beenjfs'aid ,and ,illustrated 'i Panels 30a, 3Ia and 32a are notchedvatf53lz s and 54a in amanner similar tothatdescribed in connectionwithpanels 3U, 3l` and 321;;(thus forming overlapped `joints when' ,thej,.door 'is closed)V except thatthe notches 53a and 54a' face in directions f opposite l those in. which e, lies 53"'and 54 face. j

f When inward pressure fis. directed [against panel 33a, they panelsiirst assumethe positions"`of Fig, 9, the. panel '30a swinging av counterclockwise direction ..about pir1'.,.'ll0taI and,V through` the'liink lilla.,,attachedv thereto.v `swinging vpanel 13H1` about its; pin f24a. turn,1 panel *32a isv swung v about its pin 24a`bythe\ swinging Iof panel 3Ia, the

length-Lof hingeleaf'wbeing such that, parallelvismbetween the panels .is preserved during, this movement. Continued pressure on panellll. moves the panel .assembly into the compact. Aedgeon position shown in-,dotted lines in Fig; 8. :A A-subsequent pull ony knob 55a restoresjthe door to fthe; full linecondition of Fig.. .Eh-hinge leaf 6,5 preventing the assembly, as a whole, vfrom movingA bodilytothe right in ,its fully; kfolded condition. s l g ;In-.-Figs.-10 andy 11 is .illustratedA ari-embodiment wherein the panels30b and'lB Ib swing about theattachedl and centrally arranged swivelling pinsffZIIb, whilethe vhalf-panel. ,32bfswings-.about pintle 36h. 'Pins ,24h are adapted to benassociated with hangers (not shown) similar to hangers 22,;which .hangers-,iin turn, are associated with-an uppertracknot shown). similar to track I8, all in a manner whereby panels ,30h and 3| b are suspended for swivelling and bodily movement. Here, swivelling pins 24h (and theasso- 4 ciated track) are arranged in theV central plane Cl and only yone set of links is used, these links being indicated at 50h. However, the pivotal connections 5|b and 52h connecting the parallel links `50h to the panels vare at opposite sides of plane `C and, on each panel, are equi-distant from the associatedpin 24h, the'points 5|b, 24h, and 52h, on a given panel; being in line. Both pivots 52h lie in plane E and both pivots 5| b lie in plane D. The links 50h carrypcentral studs 24bb which engage the track (not shown) with which s wivellingv pins 24h are engaged, as explained above, serving as guide members but not as lweight-sur ports.

Whenthe'door is fully-closed, these pins 24h?) lie just abovethe jointsy between panels, which joints are inclined with. respect to lines drawn normal to plane C. The joint gaps may be closed by over-lay strips 1|.

{Ihe post-side panel 32h is, in effect, a halfwidth panel and is mounted for swinging movement about a vertical axis which-isstationarily fixed with Vrelation to the door frame and lies in the planeA Cf For instance, it has .a pintle 36badapted to be entered in an overhead socket (not shown) similar to socket 38 of Fig., 5 1f.

The lower ends of the panels maybe provided with a link arrangement (not shown) similar to thatof Fig. 10, cooperating with a bottom track (not. shown) similar to track 25, the members corresponding to pins 24h and 24bb"entering the guideway of that track. Similarly, therewill be a pintle (not shown) coaxial with pintle 36h, carried by the lowerend of panel 32h and entered in a socket (not shown) similar to 39. The described association of panels, links and track is such as to constrain the panels to maintain their parallel relation as they are moved from the fullline positions of Fig. 10 through the positions of Fig. 11, and to the dotted line positions of Fig. 10, as well as through the reverse order of movement. v In,Figs. 12 to 15 Ihlave illustrated a bottom guiding assembly which. may be substituted for the stationary track v25 shown in. Fig. 6. The assembly is, in effect, .a telescopic track. An elongated metal case is secured at 15"to the floor I6 Within a wall-cavity 16,'the open end 11 of the case opening to the doorway at the post I 3, and the case lying in the plane E.

Nested nicely within the case and slidable longitudinally with respect thereof is a guide 18 in the form of an upwardly-opening channel member carrying at its outer end an integral bridge 19`spanning the channel and having a central opening 80 adapted to take, with swivelling fit, the stud or pin 24' attached to the lower end of panel 32.

When the door is fully open as in Fig. 2, the guide 18 is in the position of Figs. 12 and 14, there being a suiiicient extension 18' of the guide still within case 15 `to hold said guide against movement transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof-thus holding the bottom of panel 32 in line with the top thereof. As the door is folded, guideV 18 Vwill be thrust back into case 15 but, throughout the movement, will guidev the lower end of thepanel so its movement corresponds exactly to the movement of the upper end thereof. Fig. V13 shows the Acondition of guide 18 when the door is fully open.

A guide member 8l, similar to guide member 18 vexcept that itis of slightly smaller size, as

viewed inV transverse section, is nested in and guided for longitudinal movementby member 18. guide 8| extending beneath bridge 19. Member 8|, in turn, has a bridge 82 similar4 to bridge 19 and adapted to take, with swivel fit, pin 2l' of panel 3|. When the door isfully open, the extension 8| of guide 8| has sufficient bearing within guide 18 to insure the rigiditynecessary to keep pin 24 of panel 3| in alinement with -the upper pin 24 of that panel and hence to hold the panel against side sway. The guide continues so to hold the lower end of the panel against side sway during folding and unfolding movement of the panel assembly. In Fig. 13 the telescopic track made up of guides 18 and 8| and the case 15, is shown fully collapsed, but it now serves to hold the lower end of the assembly against side sway. Y

, -While I have shown and described preferred embodiments of my invention, various changes in design, structure and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a frame defining an opening, a track secured to and extending longitudinally of one of the -frame members, a foldable closure for the framed opening and comprising a plurality of panels arranged side by side within the opening and'with one end of each panel adjacent to and facing said track, the panels, when the closure is fully unfolded, lying iiush in a com-- mon plane, the adjacent sides of adjacent panels being relatively bodily separable when the closure is being folded and unfolded, connections between immediately adjacent panels, each connection comprising, at least in part, a link directly pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the trackfacing ends of only the immediately adjacent panels, said link being shorter than a panel is wide, the points of pivotal connection between a given link-and the two associated, immediately adjacent panels lying, when the closure is fully unfolded, at opposite sides of the common central plane of the panels but between the exposed faces of the panels, and track engaging and controlled members carried by certain, at least, of said panels.

2. The combination as in claim l; including also means at the opposite'ends of the panels conning bodily movement thereof to the path established at the first named ends of the panels by said links and trackrengaging members.

3. The combination as in claim 1; including also al pivotal connectionV between the frame and one of the end panels and fixed against. bodily movement with relation` to saidf'track and said endpanel. v x

4. The. combination .as in claim l; including alsoa hinge leaf connectionbetween said frame and one of the end panels, said'hinge leaf conf nection being applied to said one panel at a point intermediate its side edges.

5'. The combination asin claim 4; in which said intermediate point is approximately midway between the side edges of 'said one panel.

yt.Y The combination as in claim 1; in which each of said connections additionally includes a second link paralleling the first linkand pivotally connected at its' opposite'ends to the track-facing ends Vof only said immediately adjacent panels, said second link being, shorter .than a panel is wide,V the points of such pivotal connections of the secondlink to said immediatelyfadjacent panels lying, when the closure is 'fully unfolded. at

opposite sides of the common central plane of the REFERENCES CITED panels but between the exposed feces of the panel' The following references are of record in the 7. The combination as in claim 6; in which the me of this patent:

rst mentioned and second mentioned links oi each connection are of the same effective length 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS and, with the connecting panel structure, form a Number Name Date parallelogram. 582,240 Springer May 11, 1897 8. The combination as in claim 1, wherein the 702,146 McCloud June 10, 1902 one frame member is at the top of the framed 799,398 McMullen Sept. 12, 1905 opening, and wherein there is included a longi- 10 1,351,229 Bombell Aug. 31, 1920 tudinally telescopic arm made up of a plurality 1,463,346 Walker July 31, 1923 of telescopically arranged members, one of said members being secured tol the frame at one side FOREIGN PATENTS of the lower end of the framed opening, the others Number COUUTX Date of the telescopic members being pivotally con- 15 4591981 Great Bntam Jan- 19 1937 nected, one each, to the lower ends of the panels.

ROBERT E. MILLER. 

